Best Ruth Kirwan Podcasts (2025)

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EP19. Orlando, with Dr Ruth Smith, Christopher Moulds, and Anna Devin. Introduced by Polly Graham and Alexandra Mackesy 59:52

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1M ago59:52

59:52

Ahead of Longborough Festival Opera's 2026 production of Orlando, directed by Sinéad O’Neill and conducted by Christopher Moulds, this episode unpacks the interconnecting love stories at the heart of Handel’s masterpiece. Dr Ruth Smith, author of Handel's Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought leads a fascinating exploration of this much-loved ba…

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EP18. Pelléas et Mélisande, with Anthony Negus, Polly Graham, Jenny Ogilvie, Kateryna Kasper and Robert Hayward 46:17

5M ago46:17

46:17

Ahead of Longborough Festival Opera's 2025 production of Pelléas et Mélisande, directed by Jenny Ogilvie and conducted by our music director Anthony Negus, this episode unpacks Debussy's ground-breaking opera. Soprano Kateryna Kasper, who makes her Longborough debut in 2025 with the role of Mélisande, joins baritone Robert Hayward with excerpts fro…

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EP17. Dido and Aeneas, with Bjarte Eike, Tom Guthrie, Frances Gregory and Sofia Kirwan-Baez 49:15

8M ago49:15

49:15

Music extracts and discussion on Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, ahead of the new production at Longborough Festival Opera in 2025. Featuring Bjarte Eike and Tom Guthrie of Barokksolistene, Longborough's Artistic Director Polly Graham and Longborough Emerging Artists Frances Gregory and Sofia Kirwan-Baez. Accompanied by Satoko Doi-Luck at the harpsichor…

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EP16. Wahnfried, with Avner Dorman, Justin Brown, Polly Graham 1:03:13

9M ago1:03:13

1:03:13

Music extracts and discussion on Wahnfried: the birth of the Wagner cult, a major new opera with the UK premiere at Longborough Festival Opera in 2025. Featuring the opera's composer Avner Dorman, conductor Justin Brown and Polly Graham who will direct the 2025 production. This was recorded live at an event for Longborough members in February 2025.…

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EP15. John Deathridge and Mark Stone 1:23:10

12M ago1:23:10

1:23:10

Musicologist, translator and lecturer John Deathridge discusses musical threads in the Ring cycle, and offers advice on how to navigate the story. With musical extracts featuring Longborough's Alberich, the internationally celebrated baritone Mark Stone. This was recorded live at the 2024 festival. Visit the Longborough website to see the presentat…

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EP14. Beyond the Ring: a look ahead to 2025 1:25:06

1y ago1:25:06

1:25:06

Looking ahead to Longborough's 2025 season, which will include the UK premiere of Wahnfried - Avner Dorman's opera about the Wagner family - and a new production of Debussy's post-Wagnerian masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande, Longborough's Artistic Director Polly Graham talks about these works, and their relationship with the oeuvre of Richard Wagner…

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EP13. Brünnhilde and Götterdämmerung 1:00:02

1+ y ago1:00:02

1:00:02

In this episode we explore Götterdämmerung from the perspective of its heroine, Brünnhilde, with thoughts and musical excerpts from Professor Peter Franklin, conductor and pianist Justin Brown, and Longborough's own Brünnhilde Lee Bisset. This was recorded at an event for Longborough members. Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠lfo.o…

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EP12. Season launch 2024 - and a look ahead to 2025 55:42

1+ y ago55:42

55:42

In this episode we celebrate the upcoming 2024 season at Longborough - a new production of La bohème in the centenary year of Puccini's death, alongside the culmination of our Ring cycle. With readings and music from some of our brilliant Emerging Artists, we also look ahead at the exciting plans for our 2025 programme, with Longborough's Artistic …

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EP11. Book Launch - Longborough Festival Opera: the first 30 years 57:54

2y ago57:54

57:54

Longborough Festival Opera: the first 30 years is a new book chronicling how a dream of an idea became bricks, mortar and sublime music. In this recording of the book launch, author Richard Bratby talks to music historian Sophie Redfern about Martin and Lizzie Graham's remarkable achievement, and the story of opera at Longborough. Internationally r…

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EP10. Interpreting Monteverdi's manuscripts, with Robert Howarth and Lynda Sayce 31:50

2+ y ago31:50

31:50

Looking ahead to Longborough's 2023 production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, music director Robert Howarth and lutenist Lynda Sayce discuss interpreting manuscripts from Monteverdi's era. Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at LFO.org.uk

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EP9. Orfeo's journey, with Robert Howarth, Olivia Fuchs and Tom Randle 43:01

2+ y ago43:01

43:01

Looking ahead to Longborough's 2023 production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, Robert Howarth, Olivia Fuchs and tenor Tom Randle explore Orfeo's pivotal scenes and monologues as he journeys into the underworld to find Euridice.In this podcast, two of the lead creatives on this summer's production at Longborough - Music Director Robert Howarth on keyboard,…

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EP8. Wagner's Ring and ecology. With Professor Michael Spitzer and musical illustrations by Kelvin Lim 49:25

2+ y ago49:25

49:25

Wagner fits within a German ecological tradition stretching from Von Humboldt through Haeckel and Himmler to the Greens. Can any of this be heard in the music itself? This talk will show you how. This episode is a lecture by Professor Michael Spitzer, author of acclaimed book The Musical Human, with musical illustrations by Longborough's Ring cycle…

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EP7. La liberazione di Ruggiero and Freya Waley-Cohen's Spell Book. With Polly Graham, Jenny Ogilvie, Keith Pun and Clíodna Shanahan 32:25

3+ y ago32:25

32:25

In July 2022, Longborough Festival Opera features an exciting double bill performed by our Emerging Artists: Francesca Caccini's La liberazione di Ruggiero, paired with Freya Waley-Cohen's contemporary song cycle Spell Book. In this episode, Longborough's artistic director Polly Graham speaks to the production's director Jenny Ogilvie about her pla…

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EP6. Korngold's Die tote Stadt, with Jessica Duchen, Michael Haas and Charles Matthews 55:00

3+ y ago55:00

55:00

Korngold's Die tote Stadt forms an exciting part of Longborough's summer 2022 festival. In this episode, Korngold experts Jessica Duchen and Michael Haas teach us more about this remarkable composer. With musical extracts from pianist Charles Matthews. This talk was recorded at an event for Longborough members. Thanks to Stuart Essenhigh on trumpet…

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EP5. Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt, with Anthony Negus and Prof Ken Hamilton 42:59

4+ y ago42:59

42:59

Longborough Festival Opera's Music Director Anthony Negus joins the pianist and musicologist Professor Kenneth Hamilton, as they discuss the surprising personal and musical relationships between Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Hosted by writer and librettist Sophie Rashbrook. Thanks to Stuart Essenhigh on trumpet in the introduction. Find out more …

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Episode 20: S2 E20: Bird Hunting in Northern Michigan with Chris Smith 29:28

5y ago29:28

29:28

It's all about hunting and fall this week as we hang with Chris Smith, local freelance author, illustrator, and waterfowl hunter. We talk dogs in hunting - including e-collars, a passion of Tim's- hunting with kids, Chris' experience illustrating the 2020 duck stamp, and more.By Tim Gillen

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"We're always in fundraising mode" Bill Myers and Jon Dreher of Promethient and Thermavance 1:03:08

5y ago1:03:08

1:03:08

We're hanging out this week with two of the founders of Thermavance, climate-controlled technology that revolutionizes heated and cooling wearables and fabrics. You'll have to listen to the episode to hear how this innovative product heats and cools according to YOUR temperature -for maximum comfort at all times, no matter your location or activity…

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S2 E18: STOP Working at Home Until You Hear This 30:03

5y ago30:03

30:03

Small business owners: you're gonna need to bookmark this one! We're talking all things work at home, including how to migrate to a hybrid office (where half works at home and half comes in, then switch), as well as the setups you NEED in your home office to keep things running safely, smoothly, and consistently. It's not as simple as buying a cons…

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S2 E17: "We put people in a position to succeed" 44:32

5y ago44:32

44:32

This week we caught up with Sean Skarshaug of Traverse Repro and Copy Central in Traverse City. We had a fun convo all about how his company has morphed from doing strictly blueprints in the area to providing printing services of all kinds. Plus, how Sean and his wife Blythe have built a company culture that keeps his staff strong and loyal, as wel…

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EP4. Finding comedy in Wagner's Ring cycle, with Polly Graham and Sir David Pountney 26:44

5y ago26:44

26:44

In this episode, Longborough Festival Opera's Artistic Director Polly Graham joins the acclaimed librettist and opera director Sir David Pountney, who was in the midst of staging his own Ring cycle in Chicago when the pandemic first struck. The subject of their discussion is comedy in the Ring cycle: where and how we can find humour inside this hug…

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ENCORE S2 E6: Marsha Minervini, the Minervini Group 30:33

5y ago30:33

30:33

*Please enjoy this encore presentation of one of our favorite past episodes. We'll be back with a brand new episode next week!* We sat down with Marsha Minervini this week, who is an absolute joy. If you weren't passionate about up north real estate before you listened to this episode, Marsha may just change your mind! We discussed not just what sh…

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S2 E16: Nathan Griswold, Inhabitect 30:01

5y ago30:01

30:01

This week, Tim and I caught up with Nathan Griswold, of Inhabitect in Traverse City. Inhabitect designs and builds green roofs, which assist with stormwater drainage and cooling, along with providing the spaces for building inhabitants to use and enjoy. We chat with Nate today about what it's like to run his green company in an area still embracing…

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S2 E15: Skip Brown, Freedom Builders of America 30:01

5y ago30:01

30:01

We're hanging out this week with a dear friend, Skip Brown of Freedom Builders of America. As you'll hear in our episode, Freedom Builders helps people on a deeper level than just home repairs, bringing the ministry of God's love and grace to everyone involved. Skip says he wants the people his foundation touches to know that they matter. He shares…

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S2 E14: Mike Carey, Atlas Space Operations 30:04

5y ago30:04

30:04

We're hanging this week with Mike Carey of Atlas Space Operations. Atlas provides the software and ground control communication services needed by spacecraft companies to run their equipment. Mike chats with us today about the software his company wrote that powers satellites all over the world, the reasons why his company is headquartered in north…

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S2 E13: Baris Atmaca, Socks Kick 30:29

5y ago30:29

30:29

This week we're chatting with Baris Atmaca from Socks Kick, located in East Jordan. Baris has such a cool story, as he is originally from Turkey, and came to East Jordan as a Rotary exchange student in the early 2000s. He fell in love with the area and came back years later to run his socks manufacturing company in northern Michigan. We chat today …

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S2 E12: Rex Rudolph, Padgett Business Services 30:00

5y ago30:00

30:00

We're hanging out this week with Rex Rudolph of Padgett Business Services in Traverse City. Rex's company is a franchise operation that does accounting and tax services for small businesses, and he's had a crazy year so far with switching to full remote during the coronavirus lockdowns in the middle of tax season. He talks about that switch, the ad…

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BONUS Chris Fredrickson, TC Whiskey Co. 8:03

5y ago8:03

8:03

We had so much packed into our chat with Chris Fredrickson of TC Whiskey Co. in Traverse City that we had to make a bonus episode! Listen in as Chris describes a little more about what it really means to be a "craft" whiskey company in today's spirits marketplace. Chris also shares a little more details about their new production and tasting room f…

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S2 E11: Chris Fredrickson, Traverse City Whiskey Company 30:25

5y ago30:25

30:25

This week, we're hanging out for a bit with Chris Fredrickson, one of the owners of the award-winning, hugely popular Traverse City Whiskey Company. Chris spoke about how he and his team come together collaboratively to solve problems that pop up, how they lean on their community for ideas and support, what it was like in the early days of the pand…

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S2 E10: Debbie Craig, Craig Wealth Advisors 30:01

5y ago30:01

30:01

This week, we're hanging out with Debbie Craig of Craig Wealth Advisors. She's a passionate advocate for her customers when it comes to managing their money, and she also understands how technology helps make that all happen. She shares why she thinks the financial field is so male-dominated, and how to bring more women and minorities into the fold…

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S2 E9: Al Koester & Gary Tujague, Great Lakes Trim 30:03

5+ y ago30:03

30:03

This week's we're chatting with Al and Gary from Great Lakes Trim, a tier 1 supplier for the Big 3 auto manufacturers in Detroit as well as other manufacturers like John Deere. Al and Gary talk about staffing issues, traffic affecting their supply chains and trucking routes, innovative changes coming in the auto industry, and more.…

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EP3. Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen, with Justin Brown and Olivia Fuchs 41:22

5+ y ago41:22

41:22

In this episode, conductor Justin Brown and director Olivia Fuchs chat to music journalist Richard Bratby about this incredible work: Janácek's musical language; his parallels to Wagner; and why grown adults would want to see an opera about talking animals. Longborough Festival Opera's Emerging Artist production of The Cunning Little Vixen will now…

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BONUS SEGMENTS Kim White, Cherryland Accounting 13:31

5+ y ago13:31

13:31

We enjoyed our conversation with Kim White so much that we couldn't fit it all into the half-hour show! In this bonus episode we chat more in-depth about the consistency of expertise and collaboration she follows with her clients, the safety measures she takes both for her own business as well as what she does for her customers, how she connects to…

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S2 E8: Kim White, Cherryland Accounting 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

Tim and Ruthy sit down with Kim White of Cherryland Accounting, in Traverse City, to talk about how safe online practices are important not just in your personal life but as a professional as well (including VPNs on vacation- stay off the hotel wifi, guys!) as well as how Kim connects to her customers on a personal level to be a better accountant.…

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S2 E7: Mark Ray, CRM Inc. 30:00

5+ y ago30:00

30:00

ThisBy Tim Gillen

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S2 E6: Marsha Minervini, RE-MAX Realtor 29:59

5+ y ago29:59

29:59

We sat down with Marsha Minervini this week, who is an absolute joy. If you weren't passionate about up north real estate before you listened to this episode, Marsha may just change your mind! We discussed not just what she loves (and finds difficult about) running her real estate and development business here in northern Michigan, but also how she…

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S2 E5: Shawn Zipser, Zeez Management 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

This week Ruthy and Tim hang out with Shawn Zipser of Zeez Management in Traverse City. Zeez has multiple businesses under its umbrella: Arby's franchises, Harley Davidson stores, tax and attorney services. We chat with Shawn about dealing with different municipalities, how it's like working in a family business (something we know a little about ou…

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S2 E4: John Zimmerman, Brightstar Care of Northern Michigan 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

Our guest this week is John Zimmerman of Brightstar Care, who has run his in-home healthcare and medical staffing franchise since the mid-2000s. Today he joins us to talk about things like staffing issues, policy changes in the medical field, the things he loves about up north living, how his company's technology set-up has propelled his business f…

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EP2. Wagner's Women, with Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough and Lee Bisset 45:28

5+ y ago45:28

45:28

In this episode, writer and librettist Sophie Rashbrook chats to historian Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough and soprano Lee Bisset, who was set to have been Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre at Longborough in the postponed 2020 season. In their discussion they explore the roles and mythical origins of Wagner’s women. For further reading, see Eleanor's…

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S2 E3: Mike Drilling, Windborne Photographic Studios 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

Our guest this week is Mike Drilling, from Windborne Photographic Studios and Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realty. Mike's been running his studio for over 4 decades, and he's established himself as an innovative, creative, and adaptive business owner- and now brings that same creativity to realty. After our chat, Ruthy and Tim delve into the topic of ba…

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BONUS SEGMENTS Tim Brick, Brick Wheels in Traverse City 10:30

5+ y ago10:30

10:30

We had such a good time chatting with Tim Brick of Brick Wheels, and we talked for over an hour! We can only fit 30 minutes of content into our official show episodes, so we put all the bonus extras in this episode. Enjoy!By Tim Gillen

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S2 E2: Tim Brick of Brick Wheels 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

Tim and Ruthy sat down at the start of June with Tim Brick, owner of Brick Wheels in Traverse City. Tim's shop sells many types of outdoor sporting gear, including ebikes, fat bikes, and tunes and repairs snowboards and skis of all types. Our chat was long, and it was hard to condense it into our half hour! We covered tons of topics, including what…

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BONUS MATERIAL Episode 1: Tim Gillen 37:03

5+ y ago37:03

37:03

Welcome to the special bonus episode of Season 2, Episode 1 with Tim Gillen. It's packed with all the good stuff we couldn't fit into the first 30 minutes. In this one, Tim talks about what it was like growing up in a family of entrepreneurs and his very first owned business, a marina in Leelanau County; the instance that lead him to tech, while ru…

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S2 E1: Tim Gillen of Terrapin Networks 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

Welcome to Michigan Small Biz Stories! In this season, Tim and Ruth chat with small business owners in Northern Michigan about the real, frank realities of running a business up north. For our first episode, Tim takes a step back as host, as Ruthy interviews him on what it was like starting Terrapin Networks in 1990, how his company has changed, wh…

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EP1. Wotan's Journey, with Anthony Negus and Paul Carey Jones 33:29

5+ y ago33:29

33:29

In this episode, music journalist Richard Bratby chats to Longborough's Music Director Anthony Negus and bass-baritone Paul Carey Jones, who was scheduled to sing Wotan in Wagner's Die Walküre at Longborough in the postponed 2020 season. In their discussion they trace Wotan's journey through Wagner's Ring cycle. Thanks to Stuart Essenhigh on trumpe…

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Podcast trailer 0:43

5+ y ago0:43

0:43

Welcome to the Longborough podcast. Artistic Director Polly Graham introduces Longborough Festival Opera, a 500-seat homegrown theatre in the Cotswolds. Our podcast series was born out of the Covid lockdown. We'll be welcoming lots of our friends from the world of opera and the arts, including singers, players, directors, conductors and more, for w…

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065: Dr Bryan Shumaker, Headlands International Dark Sky Park 29:54

5+ y ago29:54

29:54

This week, Ruth and Tim chat with Dr Bryan Shumaker of Headlands International Dark Sky Park. We discuss the cultural impactor the dark sky, how people interested in astronomy or stargazing can get involved, and Elon Musk's SpaceX program completing its first successful rocket launch, with 2 astronauts inside.…

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064: If You Make the Tech Decisions, You're the Tech Manager 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

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#63: Pirates, Remote Tools, Disinfectants and SpaceX 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

This week, Ruthy and Tim are breaking down more nerdy tech and science news for your nerdy ears. We discuss a local pirate legend come to life with a shipwreck in northern Lake Michigan, a great list of remote tools for work-at-home business owners to check out, a disinfectant spray booth possibly coming to an airport near you, and a simulator that…

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062: Privacy and Contact Tracing Don't Go Hand in Hand 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

This week, Ruthy and Tim talk about a new sleep science study that proves what our dreams are really processing, we celebrate (?) World Password Day, discuss the Narnia-like place in this world without any coronavirus, agree that contact tracing apps, while hopeful in slowing the spread, offer little protection in terms of privacy, and a vulnerabil…

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061: Nerdy News Breakdown 30:01

5+ y ago30:01

30:01

Tim and Ruthy break down all the nerdy tech news that's happening in the world. This week, 5/3/20: Google Meet is free for Gmail users, Bubonic Plague is like the coronavirus (but not really), contact tracing apps and API from Google and Apple (is this a privacy violation? Guess what our opinion is), a PPE disinfectant out of Michigan State Univers…